sábado, 29 de noviembre de 2014

Last weekend was my Bday and I could not write a new recipe because I was so busy preparing and preparing, but here I am again.

This week hasn't been so stressful. I already have my Physics Title, and keep looking for a job. I also went shopping, I needed a new shirt and something elegant, a vest... maybe new shoes... And I have my final look for that special day. My mum is so excited!

To celebrate this amazing and special days I am living, I want to share with you an amazing (too) cake I made recently.

It is a big (LARGE) Nutella Cheese Cake! And it also is the first cheesecake I'm posting here. And also this is going to be my first Gluten Free Cake.

Nutella Cheesecake

· 2 tbsp (20g) of all purpose flour (Use cornstarch to make it gluten free)

· 3/4 cup (150g) of sugar

· 300g of Nutella

· 3 eggs

· 1 tsp of vanilla

· 1/2 tsp of salt

PREPARACIÓN

This is going to be amazing. You don't even want to stop eating!First, we have to start preparing the crust. Process or crash the biscuits until they look like sand. Pour the melted butter and mix them well. Use a fork to avoid clumps.Then, transfer to your baking pan and cover the bottom with the mixture. You can also go up the wall of the pan. Press them down with a measuring cup, a spoon or a glass.

To bake a cheesecake, you have to use a 23cm (9inches) springform pan with removable bottom. It will be the easiest way to remove the pan without breaking the cake. Don't mess up!Once is packed, place it into de fridge while the filling is prepared.Now, turn on the oven to 160ºC (320F) to preheat it. As you see, it is a low temperature (instead of the "classic" 180ºC, 350F) so this cake will take a long time to bake completely.

Take your biggest bowl to prepare the filling in it. You can make this filling by hand with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, with a hand mixer or even with a stand mixer. You choose!

Mix the cream cheese with the nutella, the sugar, the salt and the flour (or cornstarch). Try not to overheat, this only would put air inside the batter and we don't want that.Once everything is well combined add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addiction, and add the vanilla extract with the last one. Beat it making sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl and the sides too.

Transfer the batter into the springform pan and place it into the oven. You'll have to wait an hour and a quarter. 75 minutes until you will be able to look at this gorgeous and amazing cake in the eyes.To cheek if the cake is done, make sure the center is set. Use a knife or a wooden skewer to check if the center of the cake is wet or not and place it in the oven for three to five minutes longer. But after 75 it should be done.If you choose an only-bottom-crust you should release the cake from the wall, so use a knife to separate the cake and the pan.Let it cool completely before you start decorating it, because you want more chocolate on your cake, don't you?

I made this cake twice in a week, so I hace two options for you.Both start the same way, spread 100g of nutella on the surface of your cake. That will keep the things you put on top stuck.Fist option: shave white chocolate (or even dark, the one you like) and put it on the nutella.Second option: put some color, use M&M's to cover your cake.Or you can make your own option and tell me which one it is. Maybe some raspberries, strawberries?I hope you enjoy it.

martes, 11 de noviembre de 2014

And finally I have received news from university about the last subject I was waiting to pass. And I have done it.

I can finally say that I am a Physicist looking for a job.

No more to say, just celebration!

And I want to celebrate with a nice and spicy pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin PieINGREDIENTS

· 1/2 cup and 1 tbsp of room temperature butter

· 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour

· 1/2 cup of white granulated sugar

· 1 egg

· 1/8 tsp of salt

· One 425g can of pumpkin puree· 3 eggs

· 1 1/2 cups of evaporated milk

· 3/4 cup of brown sugar

· 1 tbsp of cornstarch

· 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

· 1 tsp of ground cinnamon

· 1/2 tsp of ground ginger

· 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg

· 1/8 tsp of ground allspice

· 1/8 tsp of ground cloves

·1/2 tsp of salt

· 1 cup of heavy cream

· 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

METHOD

What a wonderful flavor. I love baking with pumpkin and spices.

First thing you have to do is the crust. This is not the classic pie crust. I wanted to try something different for this pie and I found this one. It needs pre baking but you can do it while you prepare the filling, so it is not a big problem.

In a big bowl cream the room temperature butter with the sugar, just until combined because air is not necessary in this crust. Then you can add and egg, beat it, and then the salt and flour. Beat it until the flour is incorporated. This won't clump into a big ball of dough, it will be crumbly. Place them on plastic wrap and pack them into a disc. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

After that hour, take it from the fridge, remove the plastic wrap and roll it out into a big disc shape, enough to cover the pie dish. Cover it and arrange the border with your favorite pattern.

Now you can blind bake it. Cover with parchment paper and pour some beans inside and place it in the preheated oven at 180ºC (350ªF) for 15 minutes. Then remove the parchment and the beans and bake for 10 minutes more until golden brown.

If you don't want to blind bake it with the beans, you can prick the bottom and sides with a fork and place the dough in the freezer, once you roll it, for 15 minutes. Then place it into the oven for 15 minutes or until it gets a golden brown color.

Anyway, while this is in the oven, you have to prepare the filling.

In a big bowl mix the pumpkin puree with the eggs, vanilla extract and evaporated milk using a whisk. Then add the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and all the spices and mix it very well.

If you are using pumpkin pie spice, use 2tsp. If not, try to use however you prefer. If you don't like any of the flavors, you can leave it out or substitute with a little more of the other spices.

Once the pie crust is done, you may leave it aside for a bit to cool. Then you can pour the pumpkin filling inside and place it into the oven again. The oven must be preheated to 220ºC (425ºF). Bake it at this temperature for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 180ºC (350ºF) and bake for 30 minutes more.

To check if the pie is done, insert the tip of a knife in the filling, close to the border, like 3cm (1 inch) from the border. If it comes out clean the pie is done. Don't worry if the center is a bit wavy, it will finish cooking with the remaining heat.

Leave to cool to room temperature.

Whip up some heavy cream with a pinch of cinnamon and serve a nice slice of this pie with a dollop of cream on top.

lunes, 3 de noviembre de 2014

Finally chocolate is here! Perfect after all the Halloween pumpkin sweets.

I always try to avoid chocolate because is "the easy way". Almost everyone loves chocolate so that is the first thing you want to use in a dessert when you have someone coming home, or taking to a dinner to a friend's house.

But sometimes your body screams chocolate through every single pore of it and you just need to dig into it.

And that is the moment when a nice chocolaty dessert is a perfect choice.

lunes, 27 de octubre de 2014

Another classic fruit that I love to eat in these days is Pomegranate.

But I find it a bit difficult to include in any dessert, because of the seeds it has. Maybe you can prepare a big vanilla sponge cake and put some of the pretty red seeds inside it, but I thought that the cake won't let you taste the pomegranate.

So, searching and thinking, I end up with an idea, preparing something with a soft flavor and smooth consistency and good match with fruit.

And I found it, I found yogurt. It was so easy to put together.

Let's go to the recipe.

Yogurt Cake with Pomegranate

INGREDIENTS

· 2 cups (500ml) of plain, low fat yogurt

· 2 tbsp (25g) of white sugar

· 200g of low fat cream cheese

· 12g of gelatin powder· 6 tbsp (90ml) of cold water

· 1 Pomegranate· 1 tsp of brown sugar

· 160g of cookies or crackers· 50g of melted butter

METHOD

It,s going to be so easy, I promise. You don't even need the oven.
To prepare the base of the cake, procese the cookies in a food processor, or put them into a plastic bag and smash with a rolling pin, until you get little crumbs. Mix them with the melted butter and place on the base of your cake tin. You have to use one with a removable bottom. I use the little one, 18cm of diameter.
Press the crumbs onto the bottom with the back of a spoon or the bottom of a flat glass, and set that aside.

Put the water in a small glass and pour the gelatin powder on it, and let it hydrate. It won't take so
long.
In a big bowl, put the yogurt and sugar and mix it with a wire whisk. Then add the cream cheese and keep beating until it becomes homogeneous. Don't bit so fast, we don't want to put so much air inside this mixture.
Once the gelatin is hard, place it into the microwave and warm it up a bit. It don't have to boil, so be careful. Gelatin powder needs some heat to activate.
Pour the water-gelatin mixture into the yogurt and cheese one, mix it very well.

Now pour everything in your cake tin, on the cookie base, cover with plastic wrap and place it into the fridge for at least, six hours, or at night.

Once is set, and you are prepare to dig in, cut the pomegranate in half. Hold one of the halves with your hand, seeds side down and smash the other side with a wooden spoon to release all the seeds in a bowl. Do the same with the other side. Once you've got all the seeds out, fill the bowl with water and move the seeds. All the dirt will float and the seeds will sink down to the bottom of the bowl. Let it rest for five minutes. Take the dirt out of the bowl, then pour the water out, and mix the red seeds with the brown sugar. Let it rest for some minutes while you prepare the cake.

Take the cake out of the fridge, unwrap it, and pass a thin knife or an offset spatula between the cake and the walls of the pan. Now you can open it and take the cake out.

Spoon your pomegranate seeds on the cake, and now it's done. You'll have a nice smooth and healthy dessert or breakfast.
You will love the whiteness of the cake and the contrast with the red seeds.

lunes, 20 de octubre de 2014

Well, I have to admit that I love every cake, cupcake, muffin, whatever thing with carrots.
When I was younger I thought it could not work. Carrots! They were in savory dishes!

A long time ago my mum prepared a nice Carrot Cake with Cream cheese Frosting and Nuts for a Cake Contest and she won the second prize. And I couldn't still believe why people thought carrots were something appropriate in a sweet cake.

But then everything changed.

I started baking and a friend told me he wanted a carrot cake because it was his favorite. And, as I am a nice friend, I made it.

And I ate it. Half of it. In ten minutes.

Now I can say that carrot cakes are my absolute favorite cakes. I always ask for it in cafés or bars, but I must say that the ones I make are the best! haha!

Today I'm going to show you how to make carrot cupcakes. They are decorated with a little bit of chocolate, just to find something different while eating it, but feel free to prepare a nice cream cheese frosting if you prefer them that way.

I don't care about the frosting here because what I am looking for is a nice and smooth flavor. And in this cupcakes there will be nice and warm spices. Of course, is autumn!You can check this recipe here if you prefer the Spanish Version

Carrot Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

· 1 and 1/2 cups (185g) of all purpose flour

· 3/4 cups (150g) of white sugar

· 1/4 cup (50g) of brown sugar

· 1 cup (250g) of soft butter

· 2 eggs· 3 carrots finely grated

· 1/3 cup (80ml) of milk

· 1 tsp (5ml) of vanilla extract

· 1 tsp (2g) of ground cinnamon

· 1/2 tsp (1g) of ground ginger

· 1/4 tsp (0.5g) of ground nutmeg

· 1 tsp (5ml) of orange zest· 1 tsp (5ml) of baking powder

· A pinch of salt

METHOD

As always, start preheating your oven to 180ºC or 350ºF.In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients, flour, salt, the spices, and the baking powder. Set that asideIn another bowl beat (by hand, with a hand mixer or a stand mixer) the butter with the two types of sugar until it becomes pale and fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at a time. Add then, the vanilla extract and the orange zest.Now you have to add the dry ingredients in three times and the milk in two times, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Don't over mix the flour or the cupcakes won't rise up and become hard.Transfer the batter into the cupcakes tin. You can use paper liners or just grease with butter and flour the holes. you choose.Put them into the oven for 25 minutes. Check them out with a skewer, insert in the center of one of the cupcakes and if it comes out clean, they are all ready. If not, wait 3 to 5 minutes more.Once you take them out of the oven, let them cool at room temperature. And prepare your topping. Here I make a very ease one. Just melt some chocolate with a splash of cream and pour over the cupcakes once they are cool enough.
You can let the chocolate set a bit or eat the cupcake right now!

lunes, 13 de octubre de 2014

As you may know, autumn is the Apple Season, so today I'm going to show you how to prepare an easy an quick apple crumble.

Sometimes you need a sweet apple dessert, or in your breakfast, but an Apple Pie it's too much right now, you don't want to prepare the crust. Same with an Apple Tart.
But there is something easier and (maybe) even better!

This apple crumble mixes my favorite kinds of apple. The bright and green Granny Smith, the big and dark Red Delicious and the sweet Gala.
Mixing different kinds of apples allows you to adjust the sugar to your own preference. The tanginess of Granny Smith will balance the sweetness from Gala.

But, of course, you can use whatever you can get in your supermarket. Or even better if you can pick the apples from your own Apple Tree.

Prepare some vanilla ice cream to put on top of your crumble, or even this amazing Salted or Not Caramel Sauce (see the recipe in my spanish blog).

You are going to love this recipe if you have never tried it.
First thing you have to do is preparing the crust. It consists on a Streusel topping with oats and nuts.In a food processor combine the flour, salt, brown sugar and cinnamon for a few seconds. Then add the cold butter cut in small pieces. Cold butter mixes so much better into the flour. You have to pulse your processor until the mixture resembles wet sand. Pieces can be as big as peas, you won't get a a big clump of dough. Now is time to transfer the dough to a bowl and mix the oats and the nuts. You have to chop your nuts in little pieces and if you want a deeper flavor, you can place them into the oven for five minutes. The heat will bring the flavors up. Once you mix all together, place it into the fridge while preparing the apples.

Now it's time to start preheating the oven to 190ºC (375ºF).

For the apples, peel them and cut them into "half-moon" slices of 0.5cm (0.2 inches) of thickness. Place them into a big ball and add the rest of the ingredientes, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, salt and the three spices (if you want, you can also put 1/2 tsp of ground allspice). Mix them all together with a wooden spoon or a spatula. Make sure that the apples are very well covered with all the spices and cornstarch.

Two things to say. If you prefer your crumble with a little bit of juice on the bottom, just leave out the cornstarch as it will be a thickener. Second thing to say is a twist on this basic recipe, you an also add a cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen) to the apple mixture, I really love that.

Place the apples in your baking dish, casserole or pie dish, whatever you are using. Cover them with the crumble topping, don't leave any apple without topping. Make sure the whole surface is very well covered. It will help to bake the apples faster.

Place your baking dish into the oven, on the lower third of the oven, for 35 to 45 minutes. You will notice that is done when you can see bubbles around the edge of the dish and the crumble is brown.

sábado, 4 de octubre de 2014

Hi everybody! Today it's the perfect day to feel a bit more Swedish. Today is Cinnamon Bun's Day in Sweden and it is a must share this amazing recipe with all of you.

Because you have to know that I LOVE cinnamon buns, but I do love them even more if they also have cardamom.

And also this is a good opportunity to explain you something about yeast. This dough has active (alive) yeast in it, and there are some rules to follow when using it.

First thing you have to know are the different yeasts you can find in your supermarket.

There are two basic types, the "Fresh" one and the "Dry" one.

The Fresh type must be consumed in a very short period of time and be kept refrigerated because it is alive and is working. A good option to keep it safe, is freezing it. The low temperatures will slow down the yeast work and it last longer. Next time you will need it to prepare some delicious bread, buns or doughnuts, it has to be defrosted in the fridge. It cames wrapped in a cubic shape.

The Dry one is actually the same thing but dehydrated, so it doesn't need to be in the fridge to be kept. This type of yeast is more powerful than the fresh one and needs to be activated first before using it, but it only takes five minutes. It usually cames in envelopes, and it is grey and granulated.

Oh! Don't worry about living yeasts, they all die when temperature it's higher than 50ºC (122ºC)

Finally, the baking powder. This is also a rising agent but is not an alive one, so you cannot use it when you want to make doughs that needs to rest and rise for a long time.

And now it's time to start baking!

Cinnamon and Cardamom Buns

INGREDIENTS

Dough

· 750g of plain flour
· 110g of white sugar

· 400ml of warm milk

· 110g of room temperature unsalted butter

· 14g of dry yeast

· ½ tsp (1g) of salt

· 2 tsp of ground cardamom

· 1 egg

Filling

· 110g of soften unsalted butter

· 45g of white sugar

· 45g of brown sugar

· 2tbsp of ground cinnamon

Glace

· 100g de icing sugar

· 2tbsp of water

METHOD

Swedish Fika is coming!

Let's get started.

Put the milk with the ground cardamom in a saucepan, turn the heat on (medium heat) to infuse the milk with the cardamom flavors, and after a few minutes, add the butter until it melts completely. Don't let the temperature reach over 45ºC (113ºF). You have to be able to put a finger in it and don't burn yourself (be careful!).

Now that it is warm enough, you add the dry yeast to activate it. Of course with the heat off, you don't have to heat the mixture anymore. Remember that the yeast dies when temperature reaches 50ºC (122ºF).

While the activations happens, mix together in a big bowl the flour, the sugar, and the salt. Poke a hole in the middle to pour the saucepan mix in it. After pouring it, start moving with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula to incorporate all the wet ingredients until a ball of dough is formed.

At that point, transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead it for ten minutes. It will turn from a sticky dough into a smooth one. Try not to use so much flour while kneading it. To prevent from sticking, you can cover your hands with a neutral oil.

Once you get a smooth dough, paint with some oil the walls and bottom of a big bowl, put the ball of dough in it and cover with plastic wrap. Place it in a warm place (next to a sunny window or close to a radiator) and let it rest for two hours or until it doubles in volume. Don't put it inside the microwave (it will kill the yeasts). If the place where you place it is not warm enough, the yeast won't work properly.

When the dough is almost risen completely, in a bowl mix de ingredients of the feeling. Make sure the butter is at room temperature, it will allow you to create a paste with the sugar and cinnamon that it will be easy to spread.

It is also the perfect moment to preheat the oven at 200ºC (400ºF).

Now, put the dough on a surface. You can floured a bit to prevent from sticking.

With a rolling pin, roll out the dough until you get a big rectangle. Spread the filling all over the dough, leaving clear 5cm at one of the long sides. This gap will help to glue the roll.

No it's time to make the roll. Start rolling from one of the long sides, doing in tightly. Keep rolling until you reach the other side. Paint the clear gap with beaten egg, and finish rolling. Now cut this long roll in pieces, between 12 and 16.

To bake them, you can arrange them into a baking pan with removable bottom, leaving a little space between them so they can grow while in the oven. You can also place them in a muffin tin.

Paint them with the beaten egg and put into the oven. Turn the temperature down, 190ºC (375ºF), and bake them for 25 minutes, until they get golden brown.

Take them out of the oven and let them cold at room temperature.

Now make a glade mixing the water and the sugar until you get a nice consistency and drip it on the buns with a fork.

And now it's time to dig in!!!

Be sure you share them with more people or you'll fell so guilty after eating them all.

sábado, 27 de septiembre de 2014

Well, as I promised in my spanish blog, I have to start a new one in english because there´s a lot of you around the world!

So let me introduce myself.

My name is Gabriel and I have just finished my Physics degree, and this is one of the reasons why I'm starting this english blog as I am going to have a little more time to write two times in the week.

I started baking three years ago. I used to make some "yogurt cake" or "brownies" with my mum but I just wanted them to be finished and ready to be in my belly.

But then I found myself one day trying to find a present for one of my best friends, and nothing where appropriate enough for me to bought. So I decided to bake some blueberry muffins with lots of colors, a nice buttercream, put them in a funny cow-couloured box filled with candies, jellybeans, gums, tie a big blue ribbon and took a deep breath hoping she would loved it!

And she Loved it.

But something went wrong. The muffins were rock hard and tough. And I did need to know what happened to them. So I started researching through internet, and what I found was a new world.

Baking is so easy, (if I can, you can), but you have to keep an eye on everything you are doing. Don't overbeat your muffins, or you can break some teeth. Don't use cold butter, or it won't mixed properly and a very long etc.

So here I'm going to show you what I´ve been learning during this years, trying to show you something new each week.

And of course, first thing will be Blueberry Muffins.

Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

· 2 cups (250g) of all purpose flour

· 1 cup (220g) of white sugar

· 1 cup (240ml) of soft vegetable oil (like soft olive or sunflower)

· 1/2 cup (120ml) of yogurt· 1/2 cup (120ml) of whole milk

· 2 tsp (10ml) of baking powder

· 2 tsp (10ml) of vanilla extract

· 1 tsp of lemon zest (only yellow skin)

· 1 cup (240ml) of blueberries (fresh or frozen)

· 2 eggs

· A pinch of salt

METHOD

Ok, let's get started. First thing you have to do is preheat your oven to 180ºC or 350ºFNow, by hand, in a big bol, mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder and salt with a whisk and set aside. Take spoonful of this dry-mix and toss the blueberries with it to prevent from sinking.

Now the wet ingredients. In another bol or jug, combine the oil, eggs, vanilla extract, milk and yogurt.
I like to use unsweetened yogurt or low fat greek yogurt. Maybe a lemon flavored one can be a good combination with blueberries.

Pour your wet ingredients over the dry ones and mixed them with a spatula or a wooden spoon.

And now the best advice I learnt about baking, Don't OVERBEAT! Just move everything until there's no more dry ingredients. It could even be a little bit lumpy, it will help blueberries distribute among the muffin instead falling to the bottom.

Don't overbeat! Again... just in case you don't believe this is important. They won't puff up if they are overbeated.

Now mix the blueberries in the mixture, gently. If they are frozen blueberries, they will stain the batter.

Then transfer to the muffin tin with muffin papers, and into the oven for 20 minutes.

To test if they are ok, insert a toothpick in the center of one of the muffins and if it comes out dry, it's done.It's time to wait until they are cold at room temperature and you are ready to eat!I hope you like them. :)